• Working with the impact of developmental trauma and disrupted attachment
• Working with adoptive and foster families

Experience:

I am an Integrative Child Psychotherapist, trained at the Institute for Therapy and Education in London. I have over 20 years experience working as a therapist, and specialise in working with the impact of complex developmental trauma and disrupted attachments.

I have a particular interest in working with adopted and fostered children and their families. I have worked as a parent consultant and trainer for both Adoption UK and PAC-UK for 7 years, providing support to adoptive families in crisis and running training on therapeutic parenting for adoptive parents.

I currently work as a psychotherapist in schools, local charitable organisations and private practice at Mind Garden Therapy, Reading.

What do I offer?

I offer both short and long-term psychotherapy sessions for children, adolescents and their families. For some children and young people a systemic approach in which the whole family is involved in the therapeutic process can be especially beneficial. Whilst I specialise in working with developmental trauma and disrupted attachment, I also work with many other issues, including self-harm, bullying, self-esteem issues, losses and bereavements, separations, depression, school and relationship issues.

Approach and orientation:

My approach is based on the fact that each individual child, young person and family is different and needs to worked with in a slightly different way. As a result, I have an integrative approach to treatment, drawing on a number of different methodologies to to suit the individual needs. For many children, a talking-only approach does not tend to work. In these cases it is often more helpful to have a more creative approach utilising games, play and different arts media, such as sandtrays, art and puppets.

Philosophy on Counselling and Psychotherapy:

Psychotherapy offers children and adolescents a unique opportunity to undertake an exploration of different aspects of their life and life experience in a safe and contained space. The treatment process is completely supportive of the child, and of the family as a whole, and enables them to move back into a more functional relationship with themselves and with each other.

Therapies

All therapists at Mind Garden abide by their professional organisation's code of ethics. Any complaints should be directed to the individual therapist and/or their relevant professional body. This might include the BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy), UKCP (United Kingdom Council on Psychotherapy), BPS (British Psychological Society) or a similar organisation. Mind Garden Therapy assumes no responsibility for the individual practices of therapists using its facilities.